New Q Poll finds wide support for gun checks

Ken Dixon :
March 6, 2013
: Updated: March 6, 2013 9:45pm

A day after Republicans on a gun-violence task force balked at expanding the definition of assault weapons to include the weapon used in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, the Quinnipiac University Poll found widespread support for the initiative.

By identical 68 percent to 28 percent margins, state residents also support banning high-capacity magazines for ammunition.

The director of the Quinnipiac Poll said Republicans in the General Assembly have surrendered the issue of gun control to Democrats, who on Tuesday supported both measures, presenting them to legislative leaders to negotiate a possible bipartisan bill before the end of the month.

After a two-hour-and-10-minute meeting in the Capitol office of Senate President Pro Tempore Donald E. Williams Jr., leaders of the House and Senate were optimistic Wednesday night that a bipartisan bill can be agreed upon.

But the leaders were closed-mouthed on potential areas of agreement. Williams, D-Brooklyn, reiterated previous statements in support of the revisions to the ban on assault weapons and limits on ammunition magazines.

"Just speaking for myself, this was productive," Williams told reporters at about 6:30 p.m. "I don't think we're going to talk a lot about specifics. But I was heartened that we were able to make certainly enough progress to meet tomorrow. I think we're seeing some areas of agreement, and that's a positive thing."

Speaker of the House J. Brendan Sharkey, D-Hamden, who has stressed for the last two months the need to generate a bill that would garner bipartisan support, agreed it was a "good, productive" meeting. "I'm hoping that we'll be able to reach a conclusion at the appropriate time," he said.

Williams and Senate Majority Leader Martin M. Looney, D-New Haven, have selected Wednesday for a vote on a wide-ranging legislative package. But that deadline is in doubt.

Williams admitted that a vote next week would be "an aggressive schedule."

House Minority Leader Lawrence F. Cafero Jr., R-Norwalk, said the Republican and Democratic leaders negotiated in good faith.

"I think we're all working toward the same goal, which is to have a bipartisan, comprehensive, effective agreement," he said.

Follow-up meetings were scheduled for Thursday and Friday to go over the recommendations of three legislative task forces that researched school safety, mental health issues and gun control as a response to the Dec. 14 shootings that left 20 first-graders and six adults dead at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Adam Lanza, 20, used a semi-automatic Bushmaster rifle to kill the children and adults.

The Quinnipiac Poll of more than 1,000 residents found that 93 percent favor so-called universal background checks for all gun sales, even private sales and rifle transactions that are now exempt.

Seventy-two percent favor annual registration of handguns, and 86 percent support a gun offender registry for those convicted of firearms-related crimes.

The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percent.

Douglas Schwartz, director of the Quinnipiac Poll, told reporters in the Capitol on Wednesday that Republican voters are divided 45-48 percent on the issue of supporting stricter gun-control laws. Democrats support tough laws by 84-12 percent and unaffiliated voters by 63-33 percent.

"Clearly, the Democrats have the upper hand here," Schwartz said. "The public is on the Democrats' side."

Among the households surveyed, 27 percent had guns, including 36 percent of Republicans, 18 percent of Democrats and 29 percent of unaffiliated voters.

"I think the Q Poll says that we should get this thing done," Malloy said in an interview outside his Capitol office. "It's amazing: universal support for universal background checks. You have 50 percent of gun owners who want to expand the assault weapons ban. It's remarkable. Let's get it done."

He declined an opportunity to criticize Republican lawmakers who did not include the high-profile recommendations on assault-style weapons and magazine sizes.

"I don't need to make a critical statement about it," Malloy said. "They're reading a poll today. They understand that Connecticut citizens, including gun owners, want change. My hunch is we're going to get this thing done."

Rep. Kim Fawcett, D-Fairfield, said the state still has an opportunity to be a national leader.

"The final package has to be the strongest gun legislation in the country or it will be absolutely humiliating for the state of Connecticut and an injustice for the families," Fawcett said in an interview outside the House chamber.

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy said in a statement that if "common sense" laws including the expansion of the assault weapons ban and the limit on magazines had been in effect, mass shootings might not have taken place in Arizona, Colorado and Connecticut.

"If stronger measures had been in place in December, more little boys and girls would be alive in Newtown today," Murphy said. "These numbers may speak for themselves on paper, but now is the time to step up and pass these reforms. The people of Connecticut and responsible gun owners everywhere are with us. It's time to get it done."